Anti-Apartheid Movement (South Africa) The Anti-Apartheid Movement was a decades-long global campaign to dismantle South Africa’s institutionalized racial segregation system, apartheid, enforced from 1948 to the early 1990s. Domestically led by the African National Congress (ANC), Nelson Mandela, Desmond Tutu, and grassroots organizations, it used strikes, boycotts, and armed resistance when peaceful avenues were crushed. Internationally, activists pressured governments and corporations through sanctions, divestment, and cultural boycotts—turning apartheid into a moral litmus test. Mandela’s 27-year imprisonment became a global symbol of injustice; his 1990 release signaled impending change. The movement’s success culminated in the 1994 multiracial elections, making Mandela president. It uniquely blended local resilience with transnational solidarity, involving students, churches, trade unions, and artists worldwide. Despite post-apartheid challenges like inequality and corruption, the movement proved that sustained moral pressure, coupled with internal resistance, could topple even the most entrenched racist regimes. Its legacy informs modern struggles for racial and economic justice, demonstrating that freedom is indivisible and global conscience can be a weapon of liberation.
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